Mono-rail railroad



March 28, 1961 E. SCHAAR 2,976,820

MONO-RAIL RAILROAD Filed May 12, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FA I .3.

INVENTOR.

Erich 50.) a

March 1961 E. SCHAAR 2,976,820

' MONO-RAIL RAILROAD Filed May 12, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F76. 6.INVENTOR.

Erich Schaax BY WM 5. S-tMKm.

March 28, 1961 sc R 2,976,820

MONO-RAIL RAILROAD Filed May 12, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 to 43 HVVENTDR.Ench dnaax MM 6- 5mm MONO-RAIL RAlLROAD Erich Schaar, Brussels, Belgium(Achenerstrasse 16, Koln, Germany) Filed May 12, 1955, Ser. No. 507,929

Claims priority, application Germany May 13, 1954 18 claims. or. 105-141The present invention relates to a mono-rail railroad, and moreparticularly to a railroad in which a car is supported on a single railfor turning movement in transverse planes.

Arrangements are known in which cars are guided by roller means along asingle rail, the single rail, however, being of such shape that atilting of the car in a curve is not possible. Railroads of this typeare incapable of being operated at high speeds.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantagesof the known railroad constructions, and to provide a railroad which canbe operated at very high speeds while the cars are safely supported on asingle rail even when moving along a curve of the track.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mono-railrailroad in which the rail is subjected to a comparatively small loadwhich is less than the weight of the car.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mono-railrailroad in which the car is supported on a single rail in such a manneras to be tiltable in curves in a transverse plane to compensate for theaction of the centrifugal force.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a railhaving a circular cross section for support! ing the car travelingthereon for tilting movement in a transverse plane.

It is yet an object of the present invention to provide airfoils on thecar for producing a lifting force compensating the force of gravity andthe centrifugal force acting on the traveling car.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a carriagemeans on the car including pairs of opposite rollers having a groovedperipheral rim whose radius of curvature corresponds to the radius ofthe rails so that tilting movement of the car is possible while therollers roll on the rail and are held on the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for pressingthe rollers against the rail, and to limit movement of the rollers awayfrom the rail so that the grooved rims of the rollers are reliably heldon the rail.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means fordetermining the difference between the weight of the car and the liftingaerodynamic force produced by the airfoils so that the angle of attackof the airfoils and the speed of the car may be manually orautomatically adjusted to adjust the lifting force.

With these objects in view, the present invention mainly consists in arailroad which comprises, in combination, an elongated single rail, acar mounted on the rail movable in longitudinal direction thereof andturnable in a transverse plane about the rail for movement between anormal upright position and opposite til-ted positions for compensatingthe centrifugal force acting on the car in a curve, propulsion means onthe car for propelling the car along the rail, and airfoil means on thecar for producing a lifting force to compensate the weight of the caracting on the rail.

2,976,820 Patented Mar. 28;, 1961 The rail has a circular cross section,and carriage means are provided which support roller means embracing therail by means of a grooved peripheral rim. Opposite rollers are movablysupported and pressed against the rail by a suitable means, such ashydraulic and cylinder piston means, or springs.

The airfoil means are preferably turnable and can be manually orautomatically adjusted by operating means to vary the angle of attackfor adjusting the lifting force tov compensate the force of gravity andthe centrifugal force acting on the car in a curve. Ailerons areprovided on the airfoils which are operated to balance the car at lowspeeds, or whenever required.

The rail is preferably supported on arcuate supports permitting the carto assume a tilted position in a 'curve without interfering with thesupports. The arcuate supports may be mounted on high upright supportsso that the rail is elevated and the railroad passes above regulartratfic. This is particularly advantageous when the car is propelled bya jet engine.

Auxiliary rails may be provided on both sides, or on one side of themain rail for supporting the car in a sta tion or when moving at lowspeed. According to a preferred embodiment, the airfoil means arelaterally projecting Wings provided with retractable Wheel means. In astation, the Wheel means are advanced toengage the auxiliary rails sothat the car cannot tilt about the main rail. Auxiliary rails may alsobe used in a curve so that the retracted wheel means engage an auxiliaryrail when the greatest permissible angle of inclination of the car isreached.

The main rail, and the auxiliary rails, are preferably made of seamlesssteel tubes, a number of steel tubes being welded together end on end.

Due to the fact that the lifting force acting on the airfoils relievesthe rail of the. weight of the car, and of the centrifugal force, a veryhigh speed of about 300 miles per hour may be safely obtained on therailroad according to the present invent-ion.

During movement of the car through a curve a trans.- verse turningmovement is exerted on the car by the centrifugal force. In the eventthat pairs of opposite rollers are provided for holding the car on therail, an axial pair of shearing forces acts on the axes of the oppositerollers. The difference between these forces can be determined bysuitable measuring instruments which are connected to movable supportsof the rollers. The shearing force acts transverse to the rail, and itsdirection is determined by the position of the car in a curve, which maybe too much or too little inclined with respect to a vertical plane,taking into consideration the speed of the car and the radius of thecurve. The speed of the car is automatically or manually adjusted untilthe transverse force is zero which corresponds to a desirablerelationship between the force of gravity and the centrifugal force.Inclination responsive means may be provided preventing actuation of theautomatic control means before a predetermined angle of inclination isexceeded.

Pairs of rollers engaging the main rail are mounted on movablesupporting means, which are preferably pivoted levers, prevented by stopmeans to move to a position in which the rollers would release the rail.Me} chanical or hydraulic means are preferablyprovided for pressing therollers against the rail. Corresponding to the ratio between the liftingforce and the gravityQdifferent pressures may act on the rollers, andthe pressure at which each roller engages the rail is preferablydetermined by a mechanical, electrical or hydraulic pres sure measuringinstrument. The speed of the car, or the angle of attack of the airfoilscan then be adjusted by a suitable manually operated or automatic meansuntil the forces are in equilibrium, and a desired pressure is exertedice on the rail by the rollers. It will be understood that due to thisarrangement the rail has to be constructed for a comparatively smallload.

Preferably, the car is provided with a brake including two semi-circularbrake shoes embracing the rail so that the car can be'braked wheneverrequired, and held at a standstill in upright position with the brakeshoes firmly clamping the rail.

The cars according to the present invention may be provided with anauxiliary motor connected to the rollers of the carriage so that the carmay be driven even if the jet engine or gas turbine fails which normallydrives the car. When the car is driven by the auxiliary motor throughthe rollers, the pressure on the supporting means of the rollers isincreased to produce suflicient friction.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an arrangement according to the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of an arrangement according to the presentinvention;

Fig. 3 is an end view of an arrangement according to the presentinvention;

Fig. 4 is an end view of an under-carriage according to the presentinvention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operating means accordingto the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified arrangement according to thepresent invention.

Referring now to the drawing, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate thearrangement of a railroad according to the present invention. The singlerail 1 is of circular cross section, and preferably consists ofconnected steel tubes. The rail 1 is supported on arcuate supports 2 towhich the rail is secured by steel bolts 2a. The supports 2 may befurther supported on supporting means 3 or directly secured to the roadbed by means of ties 2b which are anchored to the ground by suitablemeans 2c. According to the embodiment of the invention illustrated inFigs. 1, 2 and 3 the car 10 is arranged above the rail and is providedwith a supporting under-carriage which is generally indicated byreference numeral 20.

The carriage 20 will be described in greater detail hereinafter, andincludes pairs of cooperating rollers 21, 21a

which roll along the rail 1 when the car 10 is driven by a suitablemotor, such as a jet engine.

The car 10 is provided with wings or airfoils 11, which include ailerons12 at the trailing edges thereof and additional ailerons 13 arranged inthe wing tips. The wings 11 are turnably mounted on the fuselage 14 bymeans of hollow shafts 15 which envelop the shafts 16 serving foradjusting the position of the ailerons 13 when turned by bevel gears16a. The wings 11 can be turned about the axis of shaft 15 byservo-motors 17 which are actuated by means which will be describedhereinafter. The ailerons 12 are mounted on the fuselage 14 turnableabout the shafts 12a. It will be understood that, as the car 10 rollsalong the single rail 1, the air passing along the wings 11 will tend tohold the craft in upright position when the same moves at sufiicientspeed.

The wings or airfoil means 11 are provided with re tractable wheel means11a. When the car slows down and stops, the airfoils are ineffective tohold it in upright position. Consequently, auxiliary rails 2d areprovided at stations, and wherever required, and extend parallel to therail 1 spaced apart corresponding to the space of the wheel means 11a sothat the car rolls with its wheel means 11a on the auxiliary rails andis supported at three points, when the wheel means 11a are advanced intoa projecting position.

While the car moves along the rail, it is held in equilibrium byoperation of the ailerons 13. In a curve in which the centrifugal forceacts on the rapidly moving car, the car assumes an inclined position asindicated in broken lines inFig. 3. In order to prevent excessiveturning of the car about the rail 1 in curves, the auxiliary rails 2dare engaged by the wheel means 11a when the car reaches the maximumpermissible inclination in the position shown in broken lines. Themaximum inclination is limited by the shape of the arcuate supports 2since the lower portion of the carriage 20' and the rollers 21 must. notinterfere with the supports 2. It will be understood that along straightportions of the track, almost straight supports 2 can be provided, whilein curves the arcuate supports 2 have a smaller radius of curvature soas to permit movement of the rollers 21 into the inclined positionillustrated in broken lines in Fig. 3.

During travel of the car along a straight rail portion, the gravity ofthe car and the lifting force exerted on the wings by the air have tocompensate each other to obtain the optimal conditions in which the carrolls almost frictionless on the rail. In a curve correspondingconditions can be obtained when the action of the additional centrifugalforce is compensated by inclining the car. The proper angle'can beeasily maintained by the operator when certain maximum speeds aremaintained when traveling along a curve. Each curve is designed for aparticular speed, and such speeds are preferably indicated by signsalong the track so that an operator may maintain in a curve the speedfor which the track is designed. The exact adjustment is carried out byadjustment of the wings 1 1 and the ailerons 12 and 13. Since themaximum permissible angle assumed by the car in a curve is known, it ispossible to design the rail supports accordingly to permit tilting ofthe car and of the roller carriage 29 about the axis of the rail 1.

The under-carriage 20 will now be described in greater detail withreference to Fig. 4. From the preceding description of the operation ofthe railroad according to the present invention, it will be appreciatedthat the under-carriage 2% must support the car for a tilting movementabout the axis of the rail 1 while safely holding the car on the rail.The support 4 is rigidly connected to the fuselage 14 of the car it).The support 4- includes a projecting portion 4a. A pair of levers 5 ispivotally mounted on pivot pins 5a and supported on support 4. Thelevers 5 include axles supporting the rollers 21, 21a which roll on therail 1. The peripheral rims of the rollers 21, 21a have grooves ofcurved cross-section having a radius of curvature corresponding to thecircular cross-section of the rail 1, and consequently, the rollers 21,21a can roll on the rail 1 even in the inclined position shown in brokenlines in Fig. 3, and the car is free to tilt about the axis of the rail1 without producing any change in the engagement between thesemi-circular grooves of rollers 21 and 21a and the rail 1. The movementof the levers 5 permits an adjustment of the spacing of the rollers 21and 21a to compensate for slight inaccuracies in the structure of therail 1. However, since the car must be reliably held on the rail 1, astop device '6 is provided, which is illustrated to be a bolt 6a securedby nuts 6b to the projecting portion 4a of the support '4, and having atthe ends thereof nuts 6c and 6d which are adjustable on threadedportions of the bolt 6a. The ends of levers 5 move between the nuts 60and 6d so that the movement of the levers 5 is limited whereby anextreme spacing of the rollers 21, 21a is prevented. The nuts 6c and 6dconstitute stop means limiting movement of the rollers 21, 21a away fromeach other beyond a spaced position in which the peripheral grooves ofthe rollers 21, 21a still embrace the rail and hold the car on the rail.

asrasao In order to obtain a reliable engagement between the rollers 21and 21a and the rail 1, it is necessary that the rollers 21, 21a bepressed against the rail 1. As illustrated in Fig. 4 and in the diagramof Fig. 5, pressure means 7, 7 are provided which are arranged betweenthe projecting portion 4a and the levers 5, respectively. Each hydraulicpressure means 7, 7 includes a cylinder and a pair of pistons 7a and 7bwhich are connected to one of the levers 5 and to the projecting portion4a, respectively. The cylinder of each hydraulic means 7, 7 communicateswith one of the conduits 8, 8' which are connected to manometers 8a.Consequently, the pressure prevailing in each of the hydraulic means 7,7 can be determined by the operator of the car. In the event that thelifting force of the airfoils exceeds the weight of the car, the carwill tend to move upwardly so that the pressure between the rail 1 andthe rollers 21 exceeds the pressure between the rail 1 and the rollers21a. If this is the case, the manometer 8a, associated With thehydraulic means 7 will have an indication different from the indicationof the manometer 8a. associated with the hydraulic means '7, and thenecessary adjustment can be made. Either the speed is reduced, or theangle of attack of the wings is suitably adjusted, such adjustment maybe carried out manually by the operator, or automatically. It will beunderstood that if the uplift is insufficient to overcome the Weight ofthe car, the condition will be reversed, and it Will be necessary toaccelerate the car, or to change the angle of attack of the wings toproduce a greater lifting force. The pressure in the hydraulic means 7,7 is produced by a pump 9 driven from a motor 9a and communicating withthe hydraulic means 7, 7' and with the conduits 8, 8' through a conduitb. A manometer 9c is provided for indicating the pressure in the conduitsystem and the absolute pressure between the rollers 21, 21a and therail.

When the operator determines from the manometer 8a a pressuredifference, he either accelerates or decelerates the car by adjustingthe fuel supply to the engine of the car, or he operates themanually-operated pumps 18 by means of levers 18a. The pumps 18 arerespectively connected through conduits 19, 19' to servomotors 17, 17which turn the wing 11 about the shaft 5 for varying the lifting forceacting on the wings.

The wings i]; can be also automatically adjusted. Conduits 40, 4%?connect the conduits 8, 8, respectively to the servo-motors 17, 17'. Acontrol mechanism 41 is provided in the conduits 4d, 4% which adjuststhe pressure prevailing in the conduits 3, 8 in accordance with thepressure required for adjusting the servo-motor 17, 17. This is.necessary since the lifting force is a parabolic function, while thepressure varies in accordance with a linear function. When automaticcontrol of the wings is not desired, the valves 42 are closed.Indicating means 43 are provided for indicating the angle of attack ofthe wings 11 and the lifting forces acting thereon.

Since the lifting force also depends on the speed of the car, theoperator may also adjust the fuel supply by the manually-operatedcontrol lever 30 which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 31 andconnected by a pivoted link 32 to the fuel supply control means of theengine. The operating lever 30 is connected to a doublearm lever 33 by acoupling linkage comprising two rods 35 which are connected by a pin 36passing through bores in the rods 35. When the pin 36 is removed onlythe manually-operated means 30 act on the fuel supply controls means,but when the pin 36 is inserted into the bores of the rods 35, the fuelcontrol means are connected to the double-arm lever 33 so that turningof the same about a pivot pin 33a on a bracket 33b results in control ofthe fuel supply control means of the engine.

The fuel supply control lever 30 can be also automatically controlled byoperation of the double-arm lever 33. Slots 3.3 are providedin lever 33in which slide members 37 are slidably mounted. The pistons of twohydraulic servo-motors 38 and 38 are connected by piston rods to theslide members 37. A control mechanism 39 which is responsive to apressure differential is connected by conduits 39a and 39b to theservo-motors 38 and 38. The arrangement is such that a pressuredifferential in the conduits 8 and 8' which are also connected to theservomotors 38 and 38', results in actuation of the levers 33a and 30and in adjustment of the fuel control of the propelling engine until thecontrol mechanism 39 responds to a desired pressure differential inwhich a desired slight pressure is exerted by the rollers 21, 21a on therail 1. When the pin 36 is removed, the connection between thedouble-arm lever 33 and the gas control lever 30 is interrupted, and theautomatic control eliminated so that the operator controls the fuelsupply and thereby the speed of the car in accordance with theconditions present in a particular curve. The slotted levers 33, 30constitute a differential transmission which is necessary since thelifting force is a parabolic function while the hydraulic pressure ischanged according to a linear function.

During operation the car is driven by the engine 10a, preferably a jetengine or a gas turbine. The lifting force is manually or automaticallycontrolled by adjusting the angle of attack of the wings 11 until theweight of the car is substantially balanced. The proper position of thecar can be controlled by the ailerons 13 and 12. In a curve, theadditional action of the centrifugal force has to be compensated byturning the car into a tilted position comparable to the banking of anairplane, and again the forces acting on the car are made to balanceeach. other so that the rail is subjected only to a very small load. Theuplifting force and the centrifugal force depend on the speed of thecar, and consequently an adjustment to a desired tilted position can becarried'out by controlling the fuel supply of the engine.

In the modified embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the car 10 is suspended onthe rail 1 by means of carriages 20 provided with rollers 21a and 21which are controlled in the manner described with reference to Fig. 5 toexert a desired pressure on the rail 1. The carriages 20 are connectedby a frame member 20a on which an airfoil 11a is mounted. At the lateraltips of the airfoil 11a, ailerons 11b and are arranged which areturnable independently of the airfoil 11a. The operation of thesuspended car illustrated in Fig. 6 corresponds to the operation of theembodiment described with reference to Figs. 1-5, and it vw'll beunderstood that the uplifting force can be produced by adjusting theposition of airfoil 11a, While the ailerons 11b, and 110 provide forproper banking in curves. An auxiliary motor 10' may be provided whichis connected to the rollers 21, 21a for driving the car along the railin the event that the jet engine fails or that it is undesirable to usethe jet engine.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofmonorail railroads differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in acar provided with airfoils and guided along a rail having a circularcross-section, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so' fully reveal the gistof the present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of the cross sectionof said rail so that said carriage means is supported for lateralturning movement in a transverse plane about the axis of said rail, saidcarriage means including movable supporting means supporting the rollersof each pair of opposite rollers for movement towards and away from saidrail, stop means on said carriage means engaging and blocking saidsupporting means in a position in which said rollers are spaced atpredetermined distance in which said peripheral grooves in the same atleast partly embrace said rail for holding said carriage means on saidrail, hydraulic pressure means engaging said movable supporting meansand urging said opposite rollers into engagement with said rail; a carfixedly connected to the carriage means and laterally turnable with thesame in said transverse plane for movement between a normal uprightposition and opposite tilted positions; airfoil means mounted on saidcar for turning movement about an axis transverse to said rail andadapted to produce at high speed a lifting force; and operating meanslocated in said car for turning said airfoil means in oppositedirections about said transverse axis.

2. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of the cross sectionof said rail so that said carriage means is supported for lateralturning movement in a transverse plane about the axis of said rail, saidcarriage means including movable supporting means supporting the rollersof each pair of opposite rollers for movement towards and away from saidrail, stop means on said carriage means engaging and blocking saidsupporting means in a position in which said rollers are spaced apredetermined distance in which said peripheral grooves in the same atleast partly embrace said rail for holding said carriage means on saidrail, a carriage support movably supporting said supporting means, and apair of hydraulic cylinder and piston means mounted on said carriagesupport associated with each of said pairs of opposite rollers andconnected to said supporting means for urging opposite rollers of eachpair of opposite rollers into engagement with said rail; pump meanscommunicating with said hydraulic cylinder means for producing pressurein the same; a pair of conduit means, each conduit means connected toone of said hydraulic cylinder means; manometer means connected to eachof said conduit means for determining the pres sure between each of saidopposite rollers and said rail; a car supporting said pump means,conduit means and manometer means and being fixedly connected to saidcarriage support of said carriage means and laterally turnable with thesame in said transverse plane for movement between a normal uprightposition and opposite tilted positions; control means in said carconnected to said conduit means for adjusting the pressures in saidcylinders; airfoil means mounted on said car for turning movement aboutan axis transverse to said rail adapted to produce at high speed alifting force; and operating means located in said car for turning saidair foil means in opposite directions about said transverse axis.

3. :In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers located in a plane passing through the axis of saidrail, each of said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said railand formed with a peripheral groove having a curved cross section Whoseradius of curvature corresponds substantially to the radius of the crosssection of said rail so that said carriage means is supported forlateral turning movement in a transverse plane about the axis of saidrail, said carriage means including movable supporting means supportingthe rollers of each pair of opposite rollers for movement towards andaway from said rail, stop means on said carriage means engaging andblocking said supporting means in a position in which said rollers arespaced a predetermined distance in which said peripheral grooves in thesame at least partly embrace said rail for holding said carriage meanson said rail, a carriage support movably supporting said supportingmeans, and a pair of hydraulic cylinder and piston means mounted on saidcarriage support, associated with each of said pairs of opposite rollersfor urging opposite rollers of each pair of opposite rollers intoengagement with said rail; pump means communicating with said hydrauliccylinder means for producing pressure in the same; a pair of conduitmeans, each conduit means connected to one of said hydraulic cylindermeans; manometer means connected to each of said conduit means fordetermining the pressure between each of said opposite rollers and saidrail; a car supporting said pump means, conduit means and manometermeans and being fixedly connected to said carriage support of saidcarriage means and laterally turnable with the same in said transverseplane for movement between a normal upright position and opposite tiltedpositions; control means in said ear connected to said conduit means foradjusting the pressures in said cylinders; airfoil means mounted on saidcar for turning movement aobut an axis transverse to said rail adaptedto produce at high speed a lifting force; operating means located insaid car for turning said airfoil means in opposite directions aboutsaid transverse axis; and a pressure differential responsive hydrauliccontrol mechanism communicating with said conduit means of said pair ofconduit means, said control mechanism being connected to the operatingmeans for controlling the angle of attack of said airfoil means andthereby the lifting force acting on said airfoil means.

4. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means ineluding pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section whose radius ofcurvature corersponds substantially to the radius of the cross sectionof said rail so that said carriage means is supported for lateralturning movement in a transverse plane about the axis of said rail; acar fixedly connected to the carriage means and laterally turnable withthe same in said transverse plane for movement between a normal uprightposition and opposite tilted position; airfoil means mounted on said carfor turning movement about an axis transverse to said rail and adaptedto produce at high speed a lifting force; and operating means located insaid car for turning said airfoil means in opposite directions aboutsaid transverse axis, said operating means including hydraulicservomotors engaging said airfoil means; and manually operated pumpmeans connected to said servo-motors for operating the same.

5. An arrangement as set forth in claim 4 and including indicating meansconnected to said airfoil means for indicating the angular displacementof the same and thereby the aerodynamic lifting force acting on saidairfoil means.

aeration 6. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single railhaving a circular cross section; carriage means including pairs ofopposite rollers located in a plane passing through the axis of saidrail, each of said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said railand formed with a peripheral groove having a curved cross section whoseradius of curvature corresponds substantially to the radius of the crosssection of said rail so that said carriage'means is supported forlateral turning movement in a transverse plane about the axis of saidrail; a car located above said rail and said carriage means and beingfixedly connected to the carriage means and laterally turnable with thesame in said transverse plane for movement between a normal uprightposition and opposite tilted positions; airfoil means mounted on saidcar for turning movement about an axis transverse to said rail adaptedto produce at high speed a lifting force; operating means located insaid ear for turning said airfoil means in opposite directions aboutsaid transverse axis; wheel means mounted on said airfoil means; andauxiliary rail sections located at points spaced along said rail andbeing transversely spaced from the same and cooperating with said wheelmeans for supporting said car at stations and in extremely tiltedpositions.

7. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail; a carincluding means at least partly embracing said rail and being movable inlongitudinal direction of the same and turnable laterally about the samebetween a normal upright position and opposite tilted positions; airfoil means mounted on said car for turning movement about an axistransverse to said rail adapted to produce at high speed a variablelifting force, said airfoil means including means for turning said carabout said rail into tilted banking positions in which the force ofgravity and the centrifugal force produce a resultant force passingthrough the axis of said rail so that said resultant force can becompensated by turning said airfoil means; and operating means locatedin said car for operating said airfoil means.

8. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; a car including roller means at least partlyembracing said rail so that said car is movable in longitudinaldirection of the same and turnable laterally about the same between anormal upright position and opposite tilted positions; airfoil meansmounted on said car for turning movement about an axis transverse tosaid rail and adapted to produce a variable lifting force, said air foilmeans including means for turning said car about said rail into tiltedbanking positions in which the force of gravity and the centrifugalforce produce at high speed a resultant force passing through the axisof said rail so that said resultant force can be compensated by turningsaid airfoil means; and operating means located in said car foroperating said airfoil means.

9. in a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section Whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of said rails so thatsaid carriage means is supported for lateral turning movement about theaxis of said rail and is movable along said rail; a car fixedlyconnected to said carriage means and laterally turnable with the sameabout said rail for movement between a normal upright position andopposite tilted positions; airfoil means mounted on said car for turningmovement about an axis transverse to said rail adapted to produce athigh speed a variable lifting force, said airfoil means including meansfor turning said car about said rail into tilted banking positions inwhich the force of gravity and the centrifugal force produce a resultantforce passing through the. axis of said rail so that said resultantforce can be compensated by turning said airfoil means; and operatingmeans located in said car for operating said airfoil means.

10. In a railroad, in combination an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section Whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of said rail so thatsaid carriage means is supported for lateral turning movement about theaxis of said rail and is movable along said rail; a car fixedlyconnected to said carriage means and laterally turnable with the sameabout said rail for movement between a normal upright position andopposite tilted positions; propulsion means on said car for propellingsaid car along said rail; airfoil means mounted on said car for turningmovement about an axis transverse to said rail adapted to produce athigh speed a variable lifting force; operating means located in said carfor turning said airfoil means about said transverse axis for varyingthe lifting force to compensate the force of gravity and the centrifugalforce acting on said car in a curve of said rail; ailerons mounted onsaid car for independent turning movement about transverse axes; andmeans in said car for turning said ailerons about said axes for turningsaid carriage means and said car about said rail into banking positionsin which the force of gravity and the centrifugal force produce aresultant force passing through the axis of said rail so that saidresultantforce can be compensated by turning said airfoil means by saidoperating means.

11. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of said rail so thatsaid carriage means is supported for lateral turning movement about theaxis of said rail and is movable along said rail; a car fixedlyconnected to said carriage means and laterally turnable with the sameabout said rail for movement between a normal upright position andopposite tilted positions; airfoil means mounted on said car for turningmovement about an axis transverse to said rail and adapted to produce athigh speed a variable lifting force, said airfoil means including meansfor turning said car about said rail into tilted banking positions inwhich the force of gravity and the centrifugal force produce a resultantforce passing through the axis of said rail so that said resultant forcecan be compensated by turning said airfoil means; operating meanslocated in said car for operating said airfoil means;

pressure responsive means mounted in said car for determining thepressure differential between opposite rollers of a pair of rollers; andmeans connecting said pressure responsive means to said operating meansfor adjusting the position of said airfoil means until there is nopressure differential between said opposite rollers.

12. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section Whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of said rail so thatsaid carriage means is supported for lateral turning movement about theaxis of said rail and is movable along said rail; a car fixedlyconnected to said carriage means and laterally turnable with the sameabout said rail for movement between a normal upright position andopposite tilted positions; air-foil means mounted on said car forturning movement about an axis transverse to said rail adapted toproduce at high speed a variable lifting force, said airfoil meansincluding means for turning said car about said rail into tilted bankingpositions in which the force of gravity and the centrifugal forceproduce a resultant force passing through the axis of said rail so thatsaid resultant force can be compensated by turning said airfoil means;operating means located in said car for operating said airfoil means;pressure responsive means mounted in said car for determining thepressure differential between opposite rollers of a pair of rollers; andmeans connected to and controlled by said pressure responsive means tovary the speed of movement of said car until there is no pressuredifferential between said opposite rollers.

13. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including pairs of oppositerollers located in a plane passing through the axis of said rail, eachof said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said rail and formedwith a peripheral groove having a curved cross section whose radius ofcurvature corresponds substantially to the radius of the cross sectionof said rail so that said carriage means is supported for lateralturning movement in a transverse plane about the axis of said rail; acar located below said rail and said carriage means and being fixedlyconnected to the carriage means and laterally turnable with the same insaid transverse plane for movement between a normal upright position andopposite titled positions; airfoil means mounted on said car for turningmovement about an axis transverse to said rail and adapted to produce athigh speed a lifting force, and including means for turning said car andsaid carriage means about said rail for banking in a curve; andoperating means located in said car for turning said airfoil means inopposite directions about said transverse axis.

14. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; spaced supports for supporting said rail;carriage means including a pair of holding means engaging said rail fromopposite sides for holding said carriage means on said rail movablealong said rail and turnable in a transverse plane about thelongiitudinal axis of said rail, and pressure means on said carriagemeans for urging each of said holding means against said rail; pressureresponsive means connected to said pressure means for determining thepressure of each of said holding means; a car fixedly connected to saidcarriage means and turnable with the same in said trans verse plane formovement between a normal upright position and opposite tiltedpositions; air foil means mounted on said car for turning movement abouta transverse axis and adapted to produce a lifting force; aileron meanson said air foil means for balancing said car in said upright positionand for turning said car and said carriage means about said rail forbanking in a curve of said rail; means in said car for controlling saidaileron means; operating means located on said car for turning said airfoil means in opposite directions about said transverse axis and controlmeans in said car connected to said pressure means for adjusting thepressure at which each roller of each pair of rollers is pressed againstsaid rails.

15. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross-section; spaced supports for supporting said rail;carriage means including pairs of rollers located in a plane passingthrough the axis of said rail and located on opposite sides of saidrail, each of said rollers having a peripheral rim engaging said railand formed with a peripheral groove having a curved cross-section Whoseradius of curvature corresponds to the radius of the cross-section ofsaid rail so that said carriage means is supported for turning movementin a transverse plane about the axis of said rail, said carriage meansincluding movable supporting means 12 supporting the rollers of eachpair of rollers for movement toward and away from said rail, stop meanson said carriage means engaging and blocking said support means in aposition of said supporting means in which the rollers of the respectivepair of rollers are spaceda predetermined distance from each other inwhich said peripheral grooves in the same embrace said rail for holdingsaid carriage means on said rail, a carriage support movable supportingsaid supporting means, and pressure means mounted on said carriagesupport end engaging said movable supporting means and urging saidopposite rollers of each pair of opposite rollers into engagement withsaid rail; pressure responsive means connected to said pressure meansfor determining the pressure of each of said rollers on said rail; a carfixedly connected to said carriage support of said carriage means andturnable with the same in said transverse plane for movement between anormal upright position and opposite tilted positions; air foil meansmounted on said car for turning movement about a transverse axis andadapted to produce a lifting force; aileron means on said air foil meansfor balancing said car in said upright position and for turning said carand said carriage means about said rail for banking in a curve of saidrail; means in said car for controlling said aileron means; firstoperating means located on said car for turning said air foil means inopposite directions about said transverse axis for varying the liftingforce to compensate the force of gravity and the centrifugal forceacting on the tilted car in a curve; and control means in said carconnected to said pressure means for adjusting the pressure at whicheach roller of each pair of rollers is pressed against said rail.

16. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single rail having acircular cross section; spaced supports for supporting said rail;carriage means including a pair of holding means engaging said rail fromopposite dies for holding said carriage means on said rail movable alongsaid rail and turnable in a transverse plane about the longitudinal axisof said rail, and pressure means on said carriage means for urging eachof said holding means against said rail; pressure responsive meansconnected to said pressure means for determining the pressure of each ofsaid holding means; a car fixedly connected to said carriage means andturnable with the same in said transverse plane for movement between anorm-a1 up right position and opposite tilted positions; propulsionmeans on said car including fuel supply control means; air foil meansmounted on said car for turning movement about a transverse axis andadapted to produce a lifting force; aileron means on said air foil meansfor balancing said car in said upright position and for turning said carand said carriage means about said rail for banking in a curve of saidrail; means in said car for controlling said aileron means; firstoperating means located on said car for turning said air foil means inopposite directions about said transverse axis; control means in saidcar connected to said pressure means for adjusting the pressure at whicheach roller of each pair of rollers is pressed against said rails, saidcontrol means being connected to said pressure responsive means andbeing controlled by the pressure dilferential between the pressure meansacting on opposite rollers of each pair of rollers; and second operatingmeans in said car and connected to said fuel supply control means forcontrolling the same, said first and second operating means beingconnected to said pressure responsive means and controlled by thepressure differential between the pressure means acting on oppositerollers of each pair of rollers.

17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 16 and including manually operatedmeans for independently controlling said first and second operatingmeans and said control means.

18. In a railroad, in combination, an elongated single 13 rail having acircular cross section; carriage means including holding means engagingsaid rail for holding said carriage means on said rail movable alongsaid rail and turnable in a transverse plane about the longitudinal axisof said rail, and pressure means for urging said holding means againstsaid rail; a car fixedly connected to said carriage means and turnablewith the same in said transverse plane for movement between a normalupright position and opposite tilted positions; air foil means mountedon said car for turning movement about a transverse axis and adapted toproduce a lifting force and including means for turning said carriagemeans and said car about said rail; operating means located on said carfor turning said air foil means in opposite directions about saidtransverse axis; and control means in said car connected to saidpressure means for adjusting the pressure of said holding means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS MooreAug. 22, Boynton Dec. 9, Shaffer Aug. 26, Riddick Oct. 19, Wagner July11, Johnson Nov. 28, Hohberger Aug. 6, Wulle May 24, Kuhn Mar. 5, CrookSept. 18, Fitzjohn Dec. 13,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Jan. 10,

France Feb. 13,

